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Media attention caused by the explosion in the
occupied part of Cyprus in early July, finally eased down. Many controversial
statements were made. Unfortunately, it seems that no account of the events
offered, sorted out the causes of the incident in detail. Everyone seemed to be
unworried by the allegations that the incident was accidental and the probability
of its recurrence extremely low. However, no one was able to give convincing
assurances that the incident will not be repeated in the future. Fortunately, this
time the explosion on the Pentadaktylos mountain range caused no casualties. Alas,
this was the case only here, in Cyprus.

Navel gazers and insular islanders as we mostly are, we
tend to forget that neighbours civilians - citizens of Syria - including a baby
were killed. Many cynically noticed that the Syrian authorities needed to be
more careful when using their anti-aircraft missile systems. Is this is
possible when we speak about the lives of innocent people? Apparently, the crew
of the Syrian Air Defense systems defended their own people from the missile
attacks of the Israeli Air Force. Had they not reacted, there could probably be
more civilian casualties. Shouldn’t those who use lethal weapons causing
inadvertently collateral damage of unnecessary human suffering, be more humane
and considerate? As the Israeli authorities offered no comments, the international
community apparently followed suit.

It is noteworthy that the air raid of the Israeli Air
Force was carried out from the airspace of Cyprus and Lebanon. It is rather odd
in this respect that the Israeli Air Force should use the Cyprus airspace to
launch an attack on the soil of a third friendly country and not the national
airspace of Israel. The Cypriot leadership considers Israel a friendly country,
the main regional partner and protector of Cyprus interests. But let us stop
for a moment and ponder: in the worst case scenario of a further Turkish advance,
will Israel really come to our rescue? We are of the humble opinion that the
strategic alliance with Israel, however expedient it may be at the current
juncture, has to be more balanced in order to avoid unpleasant consequences
which potentially damage Cyprus’ friendly relations with other immediate
neighbours to the east.

Faisal Al-Mikdad, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister declared
his country’s readiness to change its response to Israeli aggression. In other
words, it looks like that the era of Syrian restraint in the face of Israeli
Air Force raids on Syrian territory is coming to an end. In the light of the
new Syrian assertiveness, no one can guarantee that in the course of repelling
the next attacks of the Israeli Air Force, another load of lethal ammunition
will not land on our island. Nobody, in his right mind, wants chance to become
a regularity.

Like any other unilateral actions, such Israeli air attacks carry the danger of regional destabilisation. In such conditions, the national security interests of none of the Eastern Mediterranean states can be reliably ensured. We are in dire need of a truly comprehensive and multilateral approach to be adopted by all parties in order to achieve stability and security in the region.